Non-runners
Non-runner collection, free, from wherever it sits
Most of what we collect does not start. It is completely normal, it costs you nothing extra, and it is not the problem people expect it to be — as long as we know before the driver sets off.
- No charge for recovery, ever — a non-runner collects for the same £0 as a runner
- No keys is not a problem, but say so: the steering lock changes the job
- Tell us if the wheels do not turn, and roughly where it is parked
- Stood for years, sunk into a verge, blocked in — all normal
What's it worth?
Registration and postcode. We'll ring back with a firm figure.
The question that actually matters
Not whether it starts. Whether the wheels turn. A car that rolls can be winched onto a transporter almost anywhere. One with seized brakes, a locked steering column or missing wheels needs different kit, and round here that is often the difference between a ten-minute job and a two-hour one.
So when you ring, the useful thing to tell us is not "it won't start" — it is "it rolls but won't start", or "the back brakes are solid", or "it's been stood three years". That is what decides which truck we send.
Where it is sitting matters as much as what is wrong
On a drive, on the street, up an unadopted lane, behind a gate, in a garage, in an underground car park with a height limit — every one of those changes the job. The Colne Valley is full of steep terraces with parking both sides, and we would rather plan for that than turn up and shrug at you.
A car that has stood through a couple of hard winters will very likely have seized brakes even if it was fine when it was parked. Worth assuming, rather than hoping.
Straight answers
Questions we get about this
Do you charge extra to recover a car that won't move?
No. Collection is free whether it drives onto the truck or has to be dragged onto it. Anyone charging you a recovery fee to take a scrap car off you is having you on.
It has been on the drive for six years and the tyres are flat.
That is a normal job. Flat tyres and seized brakes usually go together after that long, so we will bring the truck that can handle it. Mention the six years when you ring — it tells us more than any other detail.
I have lost the keys completely.
Still fine. It means the steering lock is probably engaged, which affects how the car comes off the drive, so the driver needs to know in advance.
Sat on your drive doing nothing?
Give us the registration. We'll tell you what it's worth and, if you're happy, have it gone tomorrow.